Photo: Darrin Antrobus · CC BY-SA 2.0Around Naas, 13% of schools teach every subject through Irish, more than around Co. Kildare’s towns or Irish towns
For Naas, that is above both Co. Kildare’s towns (6%) and Irish towns (8%). Primary schools here average 422 pupils, against 175 across Ireland. With no school results published in Ireland, and the Education Act 1998 restricting comparisons of them, these schools are described, not graded or ranked.
Schools in the town or within 3 km of its outline, Department of Education lists for 2025/26; the Ireland figures cover all schools listed.
What stands out about Naas’s schools
A wide choice at twelve
11 post-primary schools lie within 10 km, so families here have a real choice at twelve; each admits on its own policy. The nearest: Coláiste Naomh Mhuire (0.1 km), Meánscoil Iognáid Ris (0.5 km) and Gaelcholáiste Chill Dara (0.6 km). Post-primary choices ↓
Few schools in DEIS
Only 1 of the 15 schools here are in DEIS, the programme of extra teachers and money for schools serving disadvantaged areas; across Ireland, 30% of schools are. The one in DEIS: Piper's Hill College (1,049). Who goes there ↓
From the Department of Education’s school lists: facts, not judgements of how well a school teaches.
The 15 schools in and around Naas
Every school in Naas or within 3 km of its outline, each linked to its own page. Ireland publishes no results school by school, so these cards carry no letters or results.
Where the 15 schools in and around Naas are
Each school where the official list places it, shaded by who runs it and sized by pupils; squares are secondary schools, triangles special schools. The dashed shape is Naas’s outline; schools within 3 km of it count.
Places from the Department of Education’s school lists (its own coordinates for all but a handful); map tiles © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Teaching through Irish in and around Naas
Schools by the language they teach in; the black tick is Ireland’s share.
2 of Naas’s 15 schools teach every subject through Irish: Gaelcholáiste Chill Dara and Gaelscoil Nas na Riogh.
Who Naas’s schools serve
How the area’s pupils divide, against Co. Kildare’s and Ireland’s, 2025/26
Each bar is the area’s share; the tick marks Ireland’s.
DEIS by stage: pupils at DEIS schools
| Share of pupils | Around Naas | Co. Kildare | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at DEIS schools | 13% | 17% | 27% |
| Pupils at all-Irish schools | 9% | 6% | 6% |
| Girls | 50% | 49% | 49% |
| Post-primary pupils at single-sex schools | 47% | 26% | 29% |
| Post-primary pupils at fee-paying schools | 0% | 6% | 6% |
Around Naas, 13% of pupils attend a school in DEIS; across Ireland it is 27%, and 17% in Co. Kildare. Where this area differs most from Ireland is post-primary pupils at single-sex schools, at 47% against 29%. Piper's Hill College, with 1,049 pupils, is the largest school here in DEIS.
Each of the 15 schools
| School | Pupils | Girls | DEIS | All-Irish |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coláiste Naomh MhuirePost-primary · Voluntary secondary | 1,076 | 100% | ||
| Meánscoil Iognáid RisPost-primary · Voluntary secondary | 1,013 | 0% | ||
| Scoil BrídPrimary | 612 | 43% | ||
| Mercy Convent Primary SchoolPrimary | 607 | 92% | ||
| Scoil ChorbainPrimary | 460 | 0% | ||
| Gaelcholáiste Chill DaraPost-primary · Voluntary secondary | 401 | 58% | ✓ | |
| An Linbh IosaPrimary | 401 | 52% | ||
| Naas Community National SchoolPrimary | 364 | 48% | ||
| Craddockstown SchoolSpecial | 40 | 20% | ||
| Gaelscoil Nas na RioghPrimary | 385 | 52% | ✓ | |
| Piper's Hill CollegePost-primary · ETB | 1,049 | 48% | ✓ | |
| St Davids N.S.Primary | 98 | 46% | ||
| Naas Community CollegePost-primary · ETB | 928 | 46% | ||
| Killashee Multi-Denominational N.S.Primary | 224 | 45% | ||
| St Laurences National SchoolPrimary | 646 | 51% |
Department of Education school lists 2025/26 (preliminary): enrolments by sex and the DEIS list. Shares are of pupils, not of schools; a county’s are the schools listed with its towns.
Who runs Naas’s schools
Who runs each school, as listed for 2025/26; the bars give the share of schools of each kind.
8 of Naas’s 15 schools have a Catholic ethos, against 80% across Ireland. The patrons with most schools here: Bishop of Kildare & Leighlin (5), Kildare & Wicklow ETB (4) and An Foras Pátrúnachta (2). 1 of the 15 are in DEIS, the extra support for schools in disadvantaged areas (30% across Ireland).
Department of Education school lists: ethos 2025/26, patron 2024/25 (the 2025/26 lists don’t give it). DEIS list 2025/26.
The 7 patrons of Naas’s schools
The patron owns the school and sets its ethos; a board of management runs it day to day.
The schools around Naas answer to 7 patrons, and Bishop of Kildare & Leighlin leads with 5 of the 15 schools and 33% of their pupils. The local Education and Training Board runs 4.
| Patron | Ethos | Schools | Pupils |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bishop of Kildare & LeighlinSt Laurences, Scoil Bríd, Mercy Convent Primary School, Scoil Chorbain, An Linbh Iosa | Catholic | 5 | 2,726 |
| Kildare & Wicklow ETBPiper's Hill College, Naas, Naas Community, Craddockstown School | Multi-denominational | 4 | 2,381 |
| An Foras PátrúnachtaGaelcholáiste Chill Dara, Gaelscoil Nas na Riogh | Catholic, Inter-denominational | 2 | 786 |
| CEISTColáiste Naomh Mhuire | Catholic | 1 | 1,076 |
| Edmund Rice Schools TrustMeánscoil Iognáid Ris | Catholic | 1 | 1,013 |
| Friends of Killashee School Company Limited by GuaranteeKillashee Multi-Denominational | Multi-denominational | 1 | 224 |
| Bishop of Meath & Kildare COISt Davids | Church of Ireland | 1 | 98 |
Department of Education school lists: patron 2024/25, ethos 2025/26.
How children get a place in Naas
Starting primary school
Children can start primary school once they are four, and must be in school by six. Families apply to each school directly. Every school publishes an admission policy and a yearly admission notice; a school with more applicants than places admits on the criteria in its policy. Since the Education (Admission to Schools) Act 2018, a Catholic or other majority-faith primary school can’t put baptised children first; a school of a minority faith still can, to keep its ethos.
Moving to secondary school
Children move to post-primary school at about twelve, after sixth class. Again, families apply to each school, usually a year or more ahead, and an oversubscribed school admits on its published criteria, often brothers and sisters and its feeder primary schools.
Education (Admission to Schools) Act 2018; each school’s admission policy and notice are on its own website.
Which schools are growing
Of these 14 schools, 6 have grown by at least 5% since 2019/20 and 6 have lost as much; Ireland’s pupils changed by +5%.
All 14 schools
Department of Education enrolments at 30 September, 2019/20 and 2025/26 (preliminary). No capacity is published, so how full a school is can’t be shown.
Inspection reports for Naas’s schools
The Department of Education’s Inspectorate: every school’s reports linked, none rated
Reports come from whole-school evaluations (teaching, learning, leadership and management), subject inspections and follow-through visits that check earlier advice; gov.ie publishes each one with the school’s response.
Reports say what inspectors found and what should improve, without an overall grade, so none appears here; each of the 15 schools below links its own.
| School | Reports on gov.ie |
|---|---|
| Coláiste Naomh MhuirePost-primary · Voluntary secondary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| Meánscoil Iognáid RisPost-primary · Voluntary secondary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| Scoil BrídPrimary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| Mercy Convent Primary SchoolPrimary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| Scoil ChorbainPrimary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| Gaelcholáiste Chill DaraPost-primary · Voluntary secondary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| An Linbh IosaPrimary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| Naas Community National SchoolPrimary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| Craddockstown SchoolSpecial | Inspection reports ↗ |
| Gaelscoil Nas na RioghPrimary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| Piper's Hill CollegePost-primary · ETB | Inspection reports ↗ |
| St Davids N.S.Primary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| Naas Community CollegePost-primary · ETB | Inspection reports ↗ |
| Killashee Multi-Denominational N.S.Primary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| St Laurences National SchoolPrimary | Inspection reports ↗ |
Department of Education Inspectorate reports on gov.ie, found by each school’s roll number.
Post-primary schools within reach of Naas
All post-primaries within 10 km; at about twelve, families choose and apply school by school
Within 10 km of Naas there are 11 post-primary schools: 6 voluntary secondary schools, 4 ETB schools and one community school. 4 of them are single-sex, 2 for girls and 2 for boys. One of them charges fees. Just one teaches every subject through Irish.
| School | Takes | Also | Pupils | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coláiste Naomh MhuireVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls | – | 1,076 | 0.1 km |
| Meánscoil Iognáid RisVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Boys | – | 1,013 | 0.5 km |
| Gaelcholáiste Chill DaraVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls and boys | Gaelcholáiste | 401 | 0.6 km |
| Naas Community CollegeETB · Multi-denominational | Girls and boys | – | 928 | 1.6 km |
| Piper's Hill CollegeETB · Multi-denominational | Girls and boys | DEIS | 1,049 | 2.8 km |
| Scoil Mhuire Community SchoolCommunity school · Inter-denominational | Girls and boys | – | 1,189 | 8.3 km |
| Newbridge CollegeVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls and boys | Fee-paying | 923 | 9.4 km |
| Holy Family Secondary SchoolVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls | – | 789 | 9.4 km |
| St Farnan's Post Primary SchoolETB · Multi-denominational | Girls and boys | DEIS | 676 | 9.4 km |
| Patrician Secondary SchoolVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Boys | – | 932 | 9.5 km |
| Blessington Community CollegeETB · Multi-denominational | Girls and boys | – | 737 | 9.9 km |
Department of Education post-primary list 2025/26; straight-line distances from the town’s centre point.
Special schools and classes around Naas
Craddockstown School is the special school here, with 40 pupils. 5 of the 9 primary schools have special classes for children who need more support. Their cards ↑
Special schools and primary schools with special classes as the Department lists them; the National Council for Special Education places pupils in special classes.
Naas beside the 41 other Irish towns of 18,300 to 35,300 people
Towns of a similar size, with the schools in or within 3 km of each; ordered by population, never ranked
| Town | People | Schools | Pupils | All-Irish | DEIS schools | Nearest post-primary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Navan | 33,886 | 20 | 9,158 | 1 | 35% | 0.2 km |
| Bray | 33,512 | 30 | 9,081 | 4 | 27% | 0.7 km |
| Ennis | 27,923 | 18 | 7,595 | 1 | 33% | 0.3 km |
| Carlow | 27,351 | 19 | 7,832 | 2 | 42% | 0.7 km |
| Kilkenny | 27,184 | 19 | 8,557 | 2 | 11% | 0.6 km |
| Naas | 26,180 | 15 | 8,304 | 2 | 7% | 0.1 km |
| Tralee | 26,079 | 18 | 6,726 | 2 | 39% | 0.6 km |
| Blanchardstown | 24,613 | 91 | 36,302 | 5 | 44% | 0.7 km |
| Newbridge | 24,366 | 18 | 7,450 | 1 | 33% | 0.4 km |
| Balbriggan | 24,322 | 17 | 8,295 | 2 | 29% | 0.3 km |
| … | ||||||
| Clonmel | 18,369 | 13 | 4,235 | 1 | 23% | 0.4 km |
Among the 41 other towns, 27 have more pupils at their schools than Naas does. Every one of them has an all-Irish school within 3 km.
Department of Education school lists 2025/26 (preliminary); CSO Census 2022 populations.
Pupil numbers around Naas
Each September’s pupils at every school in or within 3 km of the town, counted where the school stands today.
The schools in and around Naas had 7,314 pupils in 2015/16 and 8,304 in 2025/26. Naas Community College grew most: +95% since 2019/20.
Pupils at schools in and around Naas
Department of Education enrolments at 30 September each year, 2015/16 to 2025/26 (preliminary), for every school placed in the area today; schools that have since closed or merged count where they stood.
Schools in the towns around Naas
Each town’s schools in or within 3 km of its outline; distances as the crow flies.
Of Naas’s neighbours, Carragh saw the most growth in pupils since 2019/20 (+43%) and Clane the least (+3%); Naas itself: +7%.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Which schools count. Every school in Naas or within 3 km of its outline, as the Department places it: families here use them. Schools further out are on the map of each school’s own page.
- The kinds of school. Primary schools take children from junior infants to sixth class, about ages 4 to 12. Post-primary schools teach the Junior and Leaving Certificate, about ages 12 to 18: voluntary secondary schools (mostly with a religious patron), ETB schools and community colleges run by an Education and Training Board, and community and comprehensive schools. Special schools teach children with particular needs.
- Teaching through Irish. All-Irish: every subject taught through Irish, in the Gaeltacht or, outside it, a Gaelscoil or Gaelcholáiste. Partly in Irish: an Irish stream (some classes entirely through Irish) or some subjects through Irish. Every other school teaches Irish as a subject.
- DEIS. DEIS (Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools) gives schools serving disadvantaged areas more teachers, money and support; the Department decides which schools are in it.
- Ethos and patron. Most Irish schools are owned by a patron, mostly a church; the patron sets the school’s ethos. Multi-denominational schools (Educate Together, many ETB schools) teach children of every faith and none together.
- No grade. Section 53 of the Education Act 1998 lets the Minister refuse to release information that would allow schools’ exam results to be compared, and no results are published school by school. So Ireland’s schools have no letters and its towns no School Grade; nothing on this page ranks them.
- What isn’t here. What the UK and French pages show from results, these can’t: results charts, results against pupils’ backgrounds and towns ranked by their schools (no published results), and how full each school is (no capacity is published). Every post-primary school teaches to the Leaving Certificate, so there is no sixth-form split to show.
- Inspections. The Inspectorate’s reports are linked from each school’s page. They give no overall grade, so none is shown.
- The year. The 2025/26 lists are the Department’s preliminary release; numbers can change a little in the final lists.
Questions about schools in Naas
How many schools are there in Naas?
In Naas or within 3 km of it: 9 primary schools, 5 secondary schools and 1 special school, with 8,304 pupils between them.
Are there schools in Naas that teach through Irish?
Yes, 2: Gaelcholáiste Chill Dara and Gaelscoil Nas na Riogh teach every subject through Irish.
Are there fee-paying secondary schools near Naas?
No: all 5 secondary schools here are free.
What is the best school in Naas?
We don’t say. Ireland publishes no exam results school by school, and section 53 of the Education Act 1998 restricts comparing them; a ranking would rest on guesses. Each school’s page has its own facts and a link to its inspection reports, and visiting the schools you are weighing is still the best guide.
How do I get a place at a school in Naas?
Apply to each school directly: every school publishes an admission policy and a yearly admission notice with its dates. If it has more applicants than places, it admits on the criteria in its policy.
Sources: Department of Education, school lists 2025/26 (preliminary) and enrolments since 2015/16, CC BY 4.0 · one school placed with OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL). Under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0).
Contains Central Statistics Office (CSO) data, Census 2022, and Tailte Éireann boundaries (CSO Urban Areas, Small Areas, local electoral areas, constituencies), under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0).